Results of 2018 Special Appeal

Sincere thanks to the 71 generous donors to our 2018 Appeal to create more habitat for birds along Merri Creek. A total of $12,974 in donations was made to MCMC's Merri Creek Environment Fund. Donations are still most welcome - see below for more about this Appeal and the Merri Creek Environment Fund.

KEEP OUR BIRDS COMING HOME- SUSTAINING MERRI CREEK HABITAT

Birds are a wonderful and vital part of the Merri Creek environment.We invite you to help our birds to come home and thrive in their natural bushland environment by giving a tax-deductible donation to support the vital work of Merri Creek Management Committee. Your donation will help preserve environments where birds have made their home, and create new habitat to attract more birds back to the creek environs.

PLEASE DONATE: Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. Pay by Credit Card: Go to GiveNow. Pay by Direct Deposit: BSB: 633-000 Account No: 112718523 Account Name: Merri Creek Management Committee Inc Merri Creek Environment Fund - and please send us an This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your contact details, so we can issue you with a receipt. Pay by Cheque: Make out to Merri Creek Environment Fund and send to 2 Lee Street, East Brunswick, 3057 with a filled in Donation slip. Pay by Cash: Drop in a donation at our office.

Bringing Merri Creek back to life

The Merri Creek Environment Fund is a tax-deductible fund which aims to ensure the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Merri Creek and its tributaries, their corridors and associated ecological communities.

Donations to the Fund provide a long-term and independent source of funding to continue bringing Merri Creek back to life after 170 years of degradation.

The fund is overseen by four directors committed to Merri Creek and the wider community. They are David Redfearn OAM (Chair), Glenyys Romanes, Jo Connellan and Ann Sanson.

The Merri Creek Environment Fund is a fund of the Merri Creek Management Committee, a non-profit organisation committed to ethical investment.

If you would like to make a donation, follow the instructions above.

You may also like to look at our two page brochureabout the Merri Creek Environment Fund.

Bequests

If you would like to discuss leaving a bequest to the Merri Creek, please contact Luisa Macmillan (03) 9380 8199 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You'll find key information about bequests in our bequests facts document.

The Challenge of Restoring Merri Creek Habitat for Birds and Animals

Merri Creek stretches from the Great Dividing Range to the Yarra River. It flows from foothill forests, through farmland, rocky gorges, rare native grasslands, between quarries and factories and houses in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

After 170 years of degradation the restoration work of the last 30 years has made a huge difference, but there's a lot of work still to do.

The return of the Sacred Kingfisher is celebrated by a festival, but many other birds as well as animals are returning to Merri Creek thanks to the revegetation and remnant vegetation protection works which have been carried out.

Improving the water quality of the Creek remains a challenge requiring revegetation of the Creek banks in rural areas, restoration of wetlands or creation of new ones, and better management of the urban catchments.

Completing the habitat corridor linking the foothill forests to the grasslands in the middle catchments and through the suburbs to the Yarra is a huge task.

Rare species in the catchments: There are seven nationally rare or endangered species, and hundreds of species which are rare in the state or in the Merri Creek catchment. These species need particular attention to ensure that their populations in the Merri Creek catchment flourish. This can involve careful weed control to remove their competition, burning, or collection of seed and re-planting.

For birds and other animals to thrive, protection and ongoing management of habitat is critical.